On the Slopes

After handing everyone their room keys, Aiden and the others quickly found their room and unpacked their bags. After that, they did as instructed and headed to the mess hall for lunch. They were among the first to arrive but more students flooded in soon after. The food was set up in a buffet style and they could eat as much as they wanted to.

Aiden, Yuki, and Zeke stayed together for lunch but Spencer disappeared as soon as they were in the mess hall, for which Aiden was glad. Once their plates were filled, they went to sit down and Ava joined them as well. For the duration of the meal, everyone but Zeke, who was as silent as usual, chatted happily and ate.

When most of the students had finished eating, the teacher in charge handed a voucher to each of them that would allow them to get their ski gear. The teacher also told them where to go for lessons if they didn't know how to ski.

"I've never been skiing before so I'll have to go to the lessons," Aiden told them. "What about you guys?"

"I don't know how either." Yuki admitted. Ava said she already knew how and Zeke said he could snowboard. Aiden turned to Yuki and said,

"I guess it's just us then. Should we go now?" Yuki nodded so they said goodbye to Ava and Zeke and left to find the instructor. A few other students went with them but most, being from wealthy families who've no doubt gone on ski trips before, already knew how to ski or snowboard.

The first thing the instructor did was go over all of the safety information and the basics of how everything worked. Then, it was time to choose skis or a snowboard. Yuki chose skis but Aiden decided to try snowboarding. Once everyone had their gear, the instructor led them outside to an area with a small hill. It was just big enough to practice and they wouldn't get hurt if they fell.

For the next few hours, Aiden practiced snowboarding. He thought it would be more difficult to learn but it was surprisingly simple. The hardest part was getting used to only seeing half of everything in front of him, since he was sideways on the board, and having his feet locked in place was a little strange at first. The instructor said he probably found it easier because he was already athletic and his balance was really good.

While everyone else was still learning the basics, Aiden moved on to the beginner slope. He rode the lift to the top and carefully made his first attempt at snowboarding. Even though it was only the beginner slope, Aiden felt excited as he glided through the snow. It was more fun than he thought it would be. He wanted to move on to the intermediate slope as soon as possible but he stayed on the beginner one for a few hours until he felt more comfortable.

Just before it was time for dinner, Aiden had time for one attempt on the intermediate slope. Again, he rode the lift to the top but this time he took a moment to look at the different paths one could take. In the end, he decided to take the easiest path with only one jump. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to land it or not so it was better not to get ahead of himself.

Since the intermediate slope was bigger and steeper than the beginner one, Aiden moved faster going down. When he attempted the jump, it felt like flying and he loved it. He landed awkwardly but was able to recover and not fall over. It seemed he'd have to practice the jump more after dinner.

Making his way to the mess hall after removing his gear, Aiden met up with Yuki. He chuckled and dusted some snow from Yuki's hair.

"Oh, thanks! I didn't even notice it was there." Yuki smiled and the two of them went to get their food. Other students from their class were also getting dinner and some were already leaving after they finished eating. The chaperons were going around reminding everyone about the 10 pm curfew and saying anyone caught outside of their rooms after hours would be severely punished. Of course, no one cared about the teacher's warnings.

Aiden finished eating first and told Yuki that he was going back to the slopes while there was still light. There was only about another hour left until the sun went down and they would have to stay inside. Yuki nodded and Aiden rushed back outside after getting his gear. He spent the rest of his time that day practicing the jump.

Another guest, who was walking back to the lodge from one of the expert level slopes, stopped and watched Aiden before walking over and calling out to him.

"Excuse me!" Aiden turned towards the man.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to interrupt but I noticed you having trouble with the jump."

"Yeah," Aiden nodded. "I've been trying different things but the landing's still awkward."

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been snowboarding?"

"Just today." The man looked confused at Aiden's answer.

"Uh, I mean in total."

"Yeah. I just learned early today."

"What the?! Are you serious? Ha ha ha! That's insane man! Alright, I get why you're having trouble. Want some help?" Aiden immediately agreed.

"Yes! Absolutely!"

"Ha ha, alright! First things first, you're going to slow. Most people tend to get nervous before the jump, even if it's just subconsciously, so they end up slowing down right before the jump. Unless you're actually going too fast, slowing down any will mess up your jump. Try it again but faster this time."

"Okay." Aiden took the lift back up and started again. He hit the jump faster but the landing still wasn't right. He went back over to the snowboarder that was helping him.

"Hm. Your overall balance is pretty good but when you go for the jump try switching from your heels to your toes and go straight up. Also, level out your board at the peak height. If you're doing a straight air jump, staying balanced is key. Even the smallest tilt will mess you up. Try again." The stranger watched as Aiden made another attempt. This time the landing was smoother but still needed some practice.

"Wow! I think it was better that time!" The stranger nodded and held his arm up for a fist bump which Aiden returned.

"Yeah that was definitely better than when you started. A little more practice and you'll be good to go. Alright, I'm out. Stay safe out there!"

"Thank you!" Aiden waved as the man left and then continued snowboarding for a while longer. When there wasn't enough light left, he went back inside for the night.

Back in their room, Yuki was already laying on his bed and reading a book. According to Yuki, Zeke was in the shower and Spencer hadn't shown up yet.

"Did you have fun? You didn't get injured on the intermediate slope, right?" Yuki asked. Aiden shook his head.

"I didn't get hurt. It was really fun actually." The two of them happily chatted away until Zeke was out of the shower and Aiden went to take a warm bath. It was perfect after a long day out in the snow. He sneezed and then chuckled as he suddenly remembered his and Derek's snowball fight.

Twenty minutes later, he got out of the tub and got dressed. As he opened the door of the bathroom he almost collided with Spencer, who just grumbled in annoyance and slammed the door shut after going inside after Aiden. He probably wasn't very happy to be sharing a room with Aiden but the feeling was mutual. At the very least, couldn't he not make it worse by having such an attitude?

With not a lot they could do in their rooms, Zeke was playing a game on his phone and Aiden was listening to Yuki talk about his day. When Spencer came back out of the bathroom, he ignored all of them and slumped down on his bed in a huff and pulled out his phone. It was obvious that he had no intention of interacting with any of them but no one thought it was a loss.

At 10 pm the teachers went around to each room to make sure all the students were where they were supposed to be. They checked off the name of each person on their list and then moved on to the next room. Right after their room was checked, Spencer shut the lights off suddenly.

"I guess we're going to sleep then," Zeke said calmly. Aiden sighed and climbed into his own bed and so did Yuki. Aiden stared blankly into the dark until he felt tired. Soon after that, he drifted off to sleep excited for the next day.